The Blood Phoenix 8: A Captain America: Civil War Fanfiction

Chapter 1: Nigeria, Bombs and Crossbones

Lagos, Nigeria. 2016.

Pouring sugar into my cup, I stirred it. I was sitting with Wanda Maximoff, my sister, at a coffee shop in Lagos, Nigeria, drinking coffee. Just beyond us was Natasha Romanoff, one of my dearest friends and fellow Avengers. Above us, in a window, was Steve Rogers, another dear friend and a close confidante.

'Adelaide, what do you see?'

'Are we playing eye spy? Now?'

'Focus, Lehnsherr,' Natasha admonished me.

'Yes, mom,' I said sarcastically.

'What do you see?' Steve repeated.

'Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target.'

'There's an ATM in the south corner, which means...'

'Cameras,' Wanda spoke.

'Both cross streets are one way,' Steve replied into the earpieces.

'So, compromised escape routes,' Wanda spoke back to Steve.

'Means our guy doesn't care about being seen, he isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out,' Steve replied almost conversationally. 'You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?'

'The red one? It's cute,' I replied, letting my faint Polish accent slip with a hint of sarcasm.

'It's also bulletproof,' Natasha spoke over the earpieces. 'which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.'

'You guys know Wanda and I can move things with our minds, right?' I snapped.

'Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature,' Natasha spoke back to me.

'Lady, please. I know not to look over my shoulder. HYDRA and Red Room trained, right?' Just then Sam Wilson's voice came over the earpieces.

'Anybody tell you you're a little paranoid?'

'Not to my face... why? You hear something?' Natasha replied.

'Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him.'

'If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem,' Sam spoke over the earpieces once more. 'He kind of hates us.' Using my telepathy, I saw a garbage truck over the way.

'Sam, you see that garbage truck?' I asked him. 'Tag it.'

'That truck's loaded for max weight. And the driver's armed.'

'It's a battering ram,' Natasha spoke.

'Go now,' Steve spoke.

'What?' Wanda asked, her voice uncertain.

'He's not hitting the police,' Steve said.

'I'm coming up to you,' I said to Sam. Standing up, I used my telekinesis and levitated myself up until I was on the same level as Sam.

'I never get tired of that,' he spoke.

'I know. Nobody does.' When I was a ways above the ground, I let myself fall. Then, stretching my wings, I flew until I came above the garbage truck and flew above it until it came to the Institute of Infectious Diseases. Putting my hand to my head, I used my telepathy to encourage the guard to leave the guard station. The truck flipped and smashed through the front gates. Two yellow trucks entered the scene and landing on top of a roof nearby, I watched the scene. I saw Steve running in and taking out several of the hostiles. I ran to the edge of the roof and let my wings take flight once more before landing and helping out Steve, using my powers and my fighting skills to take out the guards who were also fighting Steve. Once I took out the last guard, Steve turned to me.

'Body armour, AR-15's. I make seven hostiles,' Steve said over the earpieces. Sam suddenly flew into the courtyard and took out a few hostiles.

'I make 5.' Wanda, flying over the wall, fought more with her powers.

'Sam!' she said. Catching one of the soldiers with his wings, he dropped him.

'Four.' Using my telepathy, I scanned the building.

'Rumlow's on the third floor,' I said to Steve.

'Wanda, just like we practised,' Steve said.

'What about the gas?'

'Get it out.' Using her powers, she lifted Steve and I into the building as he smashed the window with his shield. Going up to a soldier, Steve apprehended him and ripped off his mask, exposing him to the gas. I fought two more soldiers before we came to the place where the biological weapon was supposed to be. It was gone.

'Rumlow has a biological weapon,' I said to the rest of the team over the earpieces.

'I'm on it,' Natasha replied. Steve and I ran out onto a balcony to see Rumlow with a large missile launcher. Firing it, the missile sent Steve and I back into the building. Taking his shield, he sheltered me and we ran, with my wings also sheltering us. After two more fires, one of them caught up to us and blasted us out of the window. We landed on the buildings below. I landed just below Steve. Getting up, I did too and pulled myself to my feet.

'Are you okay?'

'Yes. Sam, he's in an AFV heading north.'

'I'll give you a lift,' I said. Taking him by the collar, I flexed my wings and using my levitation to help me, I took him to the city centre. When we landed, we tried to find the payload, but we came up empty. As we were among a group of Nigerians, a bomb landed on Steve's shield. Throwing it up and out of harm's way, it detonated without hurting anyone. Suddenly, a fist punched Steve from behind.

'There you are, you son of a bitch. I've been waiting for this!' Rumlow yelled, sending Steve flying into a shop wall. I ran towards Steve, but Rumlow used his metal fist attachment to send me flying as well. I tried to fight him more, but he grabbed me and choked me with a shocking strength that sent the life out of me. Steve and Rumlow were still fighting and I had been thrown on the ground with the air practically knocked out of my lungs. 'Come on!' Rumlow goaded. Revealing a knife, he stabbed at Steve and I let out a frightened squeak. Steve soon broke the gauntlet off, but Rumlow revealed another knife, only for Steve to best him once more. Getting him on the ground, Rumlow ripped off his mask. Steve grabbed him by the collar. Rising up, I used a piece of metal to wrap around his neck and pull it back painfully.

'I think I look pretty good, all things considered.'

'Who's your buyer?' I hissed. I let up the pressure on his neck just slightly as I felt the energy slightly leaving me. A stabbing pain was in my side, but I ignored it.

'You know, he knew you two. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky.' I gritted my teeth as Steve kept a tighter grip on his collar.

'What did you say?' Steve growled.

'He remembered you. I was there. She was too. He got all weepy about it. Until they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, 'Please tell Rogers. When you gotta go, you gotta go.' And you're coming with me.' Activating his bomb vest, I let go of him, my hands burning now. I growled from the pain. Removing them from the now melted metal, it hurt and my hands were red. But they were okay. Suddenly, I saw a red aura around Rumlow and looked to see Wanda, who was working hard to contain the blast. Sending the obviously-in-pain Rumlow up into the air, she accidentally sent him into the side of the building above. I heard screaming in my mind and fell to my knees, crying out. Looking up, I saw Wanda covering her mouth, shocked.

'Oh... my...' Steve trailed off. 'Sam... we need... Fire and Rescue... for the south side of the building. We gotta get up there.'